Alma Adlington
1856 — 4 May 1891
Alma Adlington (7‑114‑5)
Alma Adlington was born in Rotherhithe, near London in 1856, the son of a boat builder. He described himself as a cabinet maker at the time of his marriage to Mary Gascoyne at Bromley, Kent in January 1883. With their infant son, the Adlingtons arrived in Brisbane in December 1884. Two more children followed. Alma worked as a cabinet maker and upholster, his projects including the hangings behind the high altar of St Stephen’s Cathedral. He also patented in 1890, a combined horse-drawn carriage and hearse in which the coffin was stowed under the floor.
In early 1891, he went into business with established undertaker George Sillett. The partnership was short lived as Alma died on 4 May 1891 aged 36. George Sillett buried his partner and two weeks later he buried Mary Adlington, who had died of a ‘broken heart’ at the loss of her husband. The three orphaned children were cared for by their aunt.